MANSFIELD — Misty Brackett brought her 5-year-old to Buckeye Imagination Museum in hopes of finding some information on child care.
“She just turned 5 in October, so she misses that cut-off for kindergarten, but she’s too big for some preschools,” Brackett said.
“While I’d like to have her in preschool, I’m trying to find some options. This event gave me some options I didn’t know were available.”
The Mansfield children’s museum was the site of a special event Monday, focused on bringing parents, caregivers and the community together.
Richland Source, Ashland Source and Knox Pages collectively hosted Build a Better Village: What’s Next For Child Care in Our Community? as part of an ongoing reporting project focused on child care.
The event offered a day of family-friendly connection and free entry to the first floor of Buckeye Children’s Museum.
Three food trucks parked in the museum’s backlot, while local child care providers, community agencies and child care advocates set up a resource fair inside.
The event featured $3,000 worth of door prizes, with prize drawings taking place each hour.
Children and families could get an up-close look at a fire truck thanks to a visit from the Mansfield Fire Department.
“My goal for the event was to create connections and bring awareness to the issue of child care in our tri-county coverage area,” said Brittany Schock, audience engagement editor for Source Media Properties.
“Talking to people in attendance today, I realized that our communities are rich in resources and support organizations, but not enough people know they exist. I also learned that this problem is so big, sometimes it feels hard to know where to start.”
While the issue of child care can be overwhelming, Brackett said she left the event with some helpful information.
“I found out that there are scholarships for preschool,” she said. “There are more preschools available than what I knew about. There are more resources for people that need them than what most know about as well.”
Haylee Whyel has a 4-year-old daughter and a second child on the way. She said the event offered a chance to find out about the resources available for her family.
“It’s just a great thing to do with the community,” she said. “It’s important that all of us parents work together in educating our children and making sure that we have all the resources that we need.”
Whyel said a stop by the Richland Public Health table was especially helpful.
“They’re gonna help me with the pack and play … because I’m waiting on parts for my crib right now,” she said.
Heather Stover brought her three children to the event.
“I just thought it was a good opportunity for them to really play and just to connect with other people from the community,” she said.
“It’s been so much fun. I’ve been able watch them play a lot more and be a little more hands-off and just enjoy their imagination and their creativity.”
Around 100 area families attended the event, which lasted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“What I hope we learned today is that even a small step forward is still incredibly important and that it really will take a village to make meaningful progress towards solving the issue of child care in this region,” Schock said.
“As a news organization our purpose is to keep people informed, so if someone left today knowing even a little bit more about the help that’s out there, had a meaningful conversation, or keeps reading our series, then that’s a success to me.”
